Arthur: Someone get an ice pack and call my personal physician right now!
Butler Thomas: Right away, Mr. Vance. Sir, should I secure the front gates?
Arthur: Secure everything. Nobody leaves this estate until I get to the bottom of this nightmare[cite: 1].
Arthur gently helped Chloe sit down on a velvet bench near the grand staircase[cite: 1]. His hands shook as he touched the soft edge of her bruised cheek[cite: 1].
Arthur: How long, Chloe? How long has he been putting his hands on you[cite: 1]?
Chloe: Ever since the wedding six months ago, Dad... It started with small things... pushing me, screaming at me...
Arthur: Why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you call me[cite: 1]?
Chloe: He took my phone, Dad! He changed all the passwords on my accounts! He had his personal security guards watch me twenty-four hours a day!
Arthur: And his family knew about this? His father knew[cite: 1]?
Chloe: His father told me to be a good wife and endure it for the sake of the corporate merger! They all covered it up!
Butler Thomas: Sir, Dr. Reynolds is on the line. He says he can be here in ten minutes[cite: 1].
Arthur: Tell him to bring a full forensic medical team[cite: 1]. I want every scratch, every mark, and every single bruise photographed and documented[cite: 1].
Across the room, Chad struggled to pull himself up onto his knees, wiping a smear of crimson blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
Chad: You’re making a huge mistake, Arthur. You just struck the main investor in your new shipping port project!
Arthur: I don't give a damn about the shipping port project! You put your hands on my only daughter!
Chad: She tripped down the stairs at our penthouse yesterday! That’s what happened! Ask any of my staff, they'll tell you the exact same thing!
Chloe: That's a lie! He threw me against the coffee table because I tried to run away!
Chad: Shut up, Chloe! You have no proof of anything!
Arthur: She doesn't need proof, Chad. She has me[cite: 1]. And I have more money and political power in this state than your arrogant father could ever dream of[cite: 1].
Chad: You think your wealth scares me? My family owns fifty-one percent of the regional bank holding your company's loans! One phone call from me and Vance Enterprises goes into default by midnight!
Arthur: Make the call then. Go ahead, pull your phone out right now and try it.
Chad: You think I'm bluffing?
Arthur: I know you're an arrogant boy who thinks his daddy's money makes him invisible. But you forgot whose house you walked into tonight.
Chad pulled a sleek gold smartphone from his inner jacket pocket, his fingers tapping rapidly against the screen.
Chad: Dad? It’s Chad. Arthur Vance just assaulted me in front of his party guests. Cancel the merger funding immediately and freeze all Vance Enterprises credit lines!
Arthur: Put him on speakerphone, Chad. Let your father speak to me directly.
Chad: Hear it for yourself, old man!
Chad pressed the speaker button, holding the phone high in the air as the entire room watched in tense silence.
Richard Sterling (over phone): Chad? What the hell did you do?! Why is the Federal Reserve freezing our international accounts right now?!
Chad: What?! Dad, what are you talking about?!
Richard Sterling (over phone): Arthur Vance filed an emergency federal injunction ten minutes ago! All our corporate assets are locked down! What did you do to his daughter, you idiot?!
Chad: Dad... no... that's impossible!
Arthur: I told you, Chad. You should have stayed in your own house.